Shoutout to the guy who taught me to use a bone folder on every fold

I was at a workshop in Austin last spring and this old timer saw me creasing with my fingernail. He handed me his bone folder and said 'you're gonna mess up your spine doing that.' Tried it on a sewn text block and the difference was night and day. Cleaner creases, less wear. Been using one ever since. Anyone else have a tool they ignored at first that turned out to be essential?

2 comments

2 Comments

charlie_ellis11d agoTop Commenter

That bone folder thing is real. It's one of those small adjustments that just makes everything feel smoother once you get it. I've noticed a bigger pattern with stuff like this where the right tool doesn't just make the job easier, it actually changes how you treat the whole process. Like using a sharp knife instead of a dull one in the kitchen makes you slow down and pay attention rather than forcing things and getting sloppy. The tool kind of teaches you a better way of working if you let it.

casey_harris11d ago

Right, so I totally ignored my father in law when he handed me a bone folder about 5 years ago. I was like "sure pops, I'll file this right next to my ant farm and my pogs collection." Joke's on me because I now have four of them scattered around like some kind of folding ninja. I keep one in my workshop, one in my kitchen drawer that I use for pastry, and one in my glovebox for emergency paper emergencies. Really makes you wonder what other "old man tools" I've been rolling my eyes at that would actually change my life.